NHRC notice to Gujarat on snapped overhead wires

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Gujarat government, asking for appropriate action on the accidental loss of human and animal lives during the last five years due to snapping of overhead high-tension electrical wires.

The commission has issued the notice to the chief secretary of Gujarat, asking for an immediate and appropriate action, the Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC) said.

The notice was served in response to a representation by the CERC. "Fatal and non-fatal accidents involving human beings range from 560 to 719 per year...The negligence of the electricity companies is indirectly depriving innocent people of their lives," CERC said.

The number of animals affected by the electrical accidents, fatal and non-fatal, ranges from 403 to 544 per year, it said.